Fire Emblem: The Retainer
by Furyan01
Summary: This story follows the adventures and exploits of Vance Navarre and his fellow retainers to the children of King Tyson Valgus of Valantis - as based on the antics of my table-top group currently working through an FE based campaign. No special characters are slated to show up, though there may be some well known names scattered throughout...
1. Chapter 1

Mora and Vance:

As the young girl practiced her curtsies, Vance Navarre couldn't help but smirk to himself. Despite the fact that she was smiling throughout the process, the look behind her eyes screamed 'get me outta here!' Being the middle child of King Tyson Valgus, twelve year old Mora was expected to learn the ways of a noblewoman. She spent many of her days learning of the history and traditions of the neighboring countries, as well as her own. She also was taught how to conduct herself as a highborn lady should, including proper etiquette.

Vance knew she hated it. Yet, unlike her older sister Allexis, Mora rarely acted out in defiance. Even at such a young age, little Mora was quite mature - something Allexis was severely lacking. Vance was glad that she was his fellow retainer, Micah's, problem. Mora endured the monotonous classes as best she could. Long ago, Vance had made her a deal: as long as she performed well in her studies and behaved herself, he would reward her with treats. So far, the deal had worked beautifully, though Vance knew he would get an earful once she was finished with her studies for the day.

As if on queue, Vance was snapped out of his musings as Mora was dismissed from her class for the day. Mora curtsied one last time to her tutor before making her way from the garden towards the castle courtyard. Vance silently fell into step just behind the child and to her right. He quietly braced for the complaints. Once they got well out of earshot of the garden, Mora sighed heavily.

"Gods, that was sooo boring!" she said. "I really don't understand the point of all of this. Why can't I learn something useful for once. All day, everyday, it bowing, and what utensil to use, and who ruled that rock a thousand years ago. Who cares? Allexis doesn't have to put up with this. She gets to learn magic, and Zach gets to learn swordplay. Why do only they get to have fun? This sucks..." Vance waited quietly for her to finish. "Ugh," Mora exclaimed while throwing her hands up in disgust. Seeing his opportunity, Vance interjected.

"You know, what you're learning is just as important, if not more so, than magic or swordplay." Mora turned to look at him skeptically.

"How's that?" She asked. Vance pressed his point.

"You have a talent, my dear. Your patience far out does that of your brother and sister. Where they are prone to act rashly, you take the time to observe the situation and consider all of the options. This gives you a considerable edge." Mora's skepticism turned to puzzlement. "What I'm trying to say, is that you can see a situation from multiple sides. In this way, you are much like your mother. This will make you a shrewd negotiator one day; of that, I'm certain."

"Great, how does that help, exactly," Mora asked, unconvinced.

"It helps by making people like me obsolete," Vance said.

"What? No, I don't want that," the girl said, not understanding what Vance meant.

"What I mean, is that people like me - soldiers and fighters - are only needed when negotiations have failed. If it comes to blows, everyone has lost. Peace is the ultimate goal in the world, though it is in short supply. Perhaps if we had more people like your mother in the world, we wouldn't have wars that rage for over a hundred and seventy four years. This is what I mean by your studies being important. You have a chance to do what I could never do - bring about peace to those who have none.

"Let your brother learn the sword, he's the heir to the throne after all. Let your sister learn magic, I'm sure she'll be great at it. Just know that there are plenty of things that are just as important, if not more so, than those few skills." Mora took a moment to digest all that Vance had said. After a time, she sighed heavily.

"You're right, as always," she said begrudgingly.

"Of course I am," Vance smiled at his charge. She stuck out her tongue at him. As she did so, a voice caught the two by surprise from behind Vance.

"Young lady, just what do you think you are doing?" Mora shirked back, as Vance turned around. Queen Alyssa stood a few feet away with her hands on her hips, skewering her daughter with an angry scowl. To this day, the queen was the only person who had been able to sneak up on Vance. Her step was so light and graceful that she might as well have been a ninja. Vance quickly spoke up to defend the girl.

"It's perfectly ok, your grace. We were just discussing Mora's need to study."

"And how does that warrant such an unladylike reaction?" she pressed.

"Oh, she just doesn't like it when I'm right, is all." The queen eyed the retainer skeptically, in the same manner as her daughter, though it was only half hearted.

"Very well, as long as it only happens to you," she responded. "Anyways, I came to tell you two that I have need of your presence in the gardens."

"We will be along presently then," Vance said.

"Good. By the way, would you know where I might find my eldest child?"

"We haven't seen Allexis or Micah," Mora said. Vance nodded.

"If I had to guess, she's likely somewhere around the dueling or archery grounds," Vance added. The queen sighed loudly.

"You're probably right; I should have started there. I'll send one of the King's Guard to fetch them. Anyways, I'll see you two momentarily. Don't tarry, this is important," Queen Alyssa said.

"We'll be there, your grace," Vance responded. With that, the queen excused herself to track down her other wayward children.

"I wonder what this will be about," Mora mused out loud. Vance merely shrugged.

"Let's head that way and find out," he said, ushering the girl in that direction. Together, the two headed towards the castle gardens.

Upon their arrival, Vance and Mora saw that her younger brother, Zach, and his retainer, Maraav, had already arrived. Vance nodded at the half-blood Miqo'te dark mage who returned the gesture. While he knew the the mage would do anything for young Zach, he was skeptical of his chosen skill path. It was nothing personal, he had always been suspicious of magic practitioners. While it certainly had its uses, Vance was wary of the ability to affect the world around him without having to use his hands to do so.

Young Zach was busy reading a book and hadn't noticed Mora and Vance's entrance. In fact, he only looked up once Allexis and her retainer, Micah, entered the garden area. The two were arguing about something, to which Vance paid no heed. Indeed, it seemed every time he turned around, those two were at odds. He did not envy the poor Manakete. Despite being over twenty six hundred years old, and having been with this particular family for several hundred of those years now, Vance was sure the child would be the death of him yet.

Now that everyone had arrived, Queen Alyssa appeared once more. She looked over everyone present and smiled warmly at the group.

"Thank you all for coming. As you know, our kingdom has been a part of a war that has raged between our home country of Valantis and neighbor Gridania for one hundred and seventy four years now. With the hostilities finally wearing down, we can now push for a peace treaty and end this needless conflict." The queen looked to each of her children before continuing. "Your father and I have been able to convince the leaders of Gridania to come together on an accorded neutral ground so that we may draft such a treaty. Two days from now, we shall ride out and begin that process. During that time, you all shall remain here. I expect you all to be on your best behavior, as you are direct representatives of your father and I."

Next, Queen Alyssa addressed Vance and his fellow retainers. "While you three are not full King's Guard, your words and actions are highly respected by those that are. Aside from the children's safety, I want you to help ensure the smooth running of the kingdom in our absence. The King's Hand, Zephyr, will surely have his hands full as it is." The three retainers nodded their assent. "Excellent, then I'll leave you all to the rest of your day." The queen smiled once again and left to be about her business.

"So, it's finally happening," Mora remarked turning to Vance with excitement in her eyes.

"Indeed. After so many years, the voice of reason is finally taking hold." He smiled at the child before him, "this is why you must continue your studies; so to keep this war from ever returning." Mora nodded and went to converse with her brother. Vance noticed Micah looking about with a stressed look in his eyes. It was then that Vance saw that Micah's charge was nowhere to be seen. At some point during the queen's addressing, Allexis had wandered off, leaving her retainer high and dry. He just shook his head and left the poor Manakete to his fate.


	2. Chapter 2

The Market:

Once Mora finished talking with her brother, she ran over to Vance.

"Hey, can we go to the market?"

"I don't see why not," he said. With a small squeal of joy, the child ran off to get her coin purse. Once she returned, the two headed out of the castle and into the township of Valantis. As they entered the market area, Vance was hard pressed to keep up with Mora as she darted from shop to shop. Though she rarely bought anything, she had always enjoyed perusing the various shops and their wares. It was good that Vance was light on his feet, as he needed to be in order to make his way through the crowds and keep up with the girl.

He noticed Mora duck into a weapons shop, and pushed his way inside to see what she had discovered. The girl stood before a particular counter eyeing an impressive sword. The blade was long and curved with serrations along its lower half. The shop tag labeled it as "Killing Edge." As Vance stepped up beside Mora, she turned to him.

"You would look awesome with that," she commented.

"You think so," he asked.

"Definitely! One of these days I'll come get it for you." Vance chuckled and patted the girl on the head.

"You certainly have good taste, my dear. I look forward to that day then. Come, let's get you something sweet." The child beamed at him before leading him out of the shop and towards her favorite candy spot.

As the two made their way through the crowds, Vance caught a glimpse of something small moving fast towards them. He whirled around pushing little Mora back while swatting at the object with his other hand. He connected solidly with it and slapped it to the ground. It turned out to be a stone, and judging from the height at which it was flying at them, it was aimed at Mora. As he scanned the crowd for the source of the stone, two figures were staring at him with what was clearly dark intent. Vance slightly turned his head so he could address the child without letting the two out of his sight.

"Stay behind me," he instructed her while taking a few steps toward the figures. He drew his sword as he did so, prompting people around him to give him a wide berth. While the figures didn't step forward, they didn't back down either. Vance fixed the two men before him with a hard stare.

"You dare assault a member of the royal family? I'll see you hang for this!" He settled into his combat stance with his sword above his head, the tip pointed at the two across from him. It was the stance preferred by most Myrmidons, allowing one to easily run their opponent through. One of the men faltered a bit, though the other stood firm.

"No, we're simply dealing with the spawn of a traitor," the man said. "Valgus has betrayed us all, and we'll not stand for it!" The crowd surrounding them all began to share murmurs about the standoff before them. Vance paid them no heed while he focused to these two.

"So, you not only assault the king's child but speak ill of him as well? No, the hangman's noose is too good for you. I should put you down in this very street. It's a place more fitting for gutter trash such as yourselves," Vance spat as he lowered his blade and stalked forward. Mora peeked her head out from behind him to get a better look at the two who had brought such dark words from her retainer. She had never heard such things from him before, and worry played across her delicate features. However, as she did so, the man who stood firm before the swordsman wheeled and threw another stone at the child. Whipping his blade back up, Vance cleanly cut the rock in two, sending the pieces in opposite directions away from his charge. Despite this, the child yelped out of reaction to the danger and jumped back behind him. With murder in his eyes, he reoriented on the attackers only to find that they had made off into the crowd around them.

With the immediate danger past, Vance scanned the crowd for them as well as any other threats. When none emerged, he sheathed his sword and turned to little Mora. With tears in her eyes, she buried herself into him in a tight hug as she began to sob. Vance held her there for a few moments before kneeling down to look her in the eyes.

"There now, it's over. They're all gone," he comforted her while stroking her head. Through red, puffy eyes, Mora nodded meekly. She sniffled and wiped her eyes while trying to regain her composure. "Come now," Vance said as he picked her up. She buried herself in his shoulder and help him in a vice like grip. After adjusting her hold so it wasn't so constricting, he carried her away from the marketplace back towards the castle. If anyone dared to linger in his path, he dispersed them with a sharp look that promised bodily harm. Needless to say, no one lingered in his way for more than a second or two.

Once they were away from the markets and well into the housing for nobles, Mora got down and walked beside Vance. She looked deep in thought, so he didn't disturb her. After a bit, she spoke up.

"Why did they call my father a traitor?"

"Some people don't value peace the way others do; the way they ought to," he said shaking his head. "Don't let the words of a couple of warmongers bother you. They are a minority by far. Men like that are good at hating an enemy they've never seen. To them, this war is only an idea, so it's easy to throw around words like traitor and betrayal." Mora said nothing as she considered Vance's words. "By the way," he said after a bit, "I apologize if I scared you back there. I take my duty very seriously. I will never let harm come to you, or your siblings, or parents as long as I draw breath. I will also not stand for anyone to speak poorly of the family that so kindly took me in and gave all that I have. The King and Queen are kind and devoted to all of those in their charge. To hear someone accuse them of treason, or try to hurt you; it makes my blood boil."

"It's ok," the child said. "I know you were only protecting me. It's just… a bit scary to see it in person."

"I'm sorry, Mora," Vance said. The girl perked up a bit then.

"Well, that just means we need to get you that Killing Edge as soon as possible. That way, the bad guys will just run away once you pull it out!" Vance chuckled at her.

"It's certainly worth a try," he said smiling at her.

As the two returned to the palace, they found out that Allexis and Micah had been the targets of another such attack earlier that evening in another district. Luckily they had come away without any serious injuries, though Allexis bore a nasty bruise on her forehead where a stone had found its mark. Zach and Maraav had been spared any such excitement as they had spent the day on the palace grounds. Once the captain of the King's Guard was informed of the attacks, he immediately went about increasing patrols around the suspect districts. He even went so far as to assign a few of the King's Guard themselves to the patrols. It was unusual, as the Guard were employed strictly to ensure the safety of the King and Queen. With them bolstering the ranks of the normal city guard, one could easily see how serious things were.

That evening, after the children had been put to bed, Queen Alyssa pulled the three retainers aside.

"I won't take much of your time. I'm sure you are all plenty exhausted by the day's events." Vance and Micah nodded, while Maraav just shrugged. "I figured we'd see a bit of backlash, as there are plenty of of those who believe that we should continue this war. While their patriotism is to be commended, they will just have to learn that this peace treaty is going to come about despite their objections," Queen Alyssa continued.

"Forgive me, your Highness," Vance interrupted, "but any man who calls his king a traitor or tries to harm his children is no patriot." Micah nodded in agreement.

"I understand your sentiment, Mr. Navarre," the Queen said, "however you cannot expect everyone to change over night. Give it time and you'll see that things will become better. This war has raged for so long; it will take the people a while to realize it's truly over. Once that happens, we will all be able to move on to greater endeavors."

"I hope you're right, your Highness," Vance responded.

"Now, we need something to lift the children's spirits," Alyssa said suddenly. "How about you boys take the children out for a nice lunch tomorrow? I'm sure it'll help take their minds off of this whole situation."

"We'd be happy to, my Queen," Micah said. Vance and Maraav nodded as well. Vance hoped it would help, but he would remain on high alert.


	3. Chapter 3

White Mantle:

The evening came and went. The next morning, Vance got up early to put in some practice time with his blade. As he made his way to the training yard, the place was already alive with soldiers drilling and setting up patrols for the day. Finding a somewhat secluded spot and removing his shirt, Vance shut everything else out of his mind and began his routine. He slowly went through a series of complex sword drills before increasing his speed. Soon enough, he had worked up a heavy sweat and labored breathing, while whirling about and striking a number of wooden training dummies.

As he reached a stopping point, he then noticed the audience he had garnered. It was a male and female pair that Vance didn't recognize. The male wore a dark leather coat and hood with matching pants. The dual daggers strapped to his waistline, as well as the way he held himself screamed rogue to Vance. Perhaps a thief or ninja? The girl had the robes of a noble with armor pieces covering key parts of her body. She wore a long sword on her hip, as well as a shield on her back. Likely a paladin or other class of fighter. The two were observing him from across the grounds by the entrance to the guard house. Probably a couple of hopefuls here to try out for the city guard, Vance figured. As he had finished his routine, he sheathed his blade, tossed his shirt over his shoulder, and padded off to get cleaned up for the day.

Once he had made himself presentable, he made his way to the kids rooms. Maraav was seated outside of Zach's room, reading a tome quietly. Nodding at the Miqo'te in passing, Vance lightly rapped on Mora's door. After a moment, Mora opened the door to her retainer.

"Good morning Vance," she said with a smile on her face.

"Good morning to you, my dear," he responded with a smile of his own. "Are you ready for the day?"

"I am. I hear we're all having lunch together in town."

"That's the idea, so long as the others join us in a timely manner," Vance said with a sidelong glance at the dark mage to his left. Taking a queue from this, Maraav closed his book and went to check on Zach's readiness. Before long, he reappeared with the boy in tow. Despite his being dressed, Zach was still rubbing his eyes as though he had just risen from rest. That only left Allexis and Micah unaccounted for.

"Have you seen our wayward companions," Vance inquired.

"Micah went in a bit before you got here, so they should be along shortly," Maraav answered. Before either retainer could say or do anything else, Mora spoke up.

"I'll go see what's taking so long." With that, she ran over to Allexis' room and went inside. All three of the males then stood still and listened. There seemed to be some commotion in the room, but the voices were too muffled by the walls and door to be heard clearly. Suddenly, the door burst open and Allexis stalked out into the hallway with Mora on her heels.

"...But you promised you'd go!" Mora complained. "We're all supposed to have lunch together."

"Ugh, I don't have time for that. I'm supposed to train with Master Armin this afternoon. He's teaching me to shoot my bow from horseback," Allexis countered.

"You will have plenty of time for that afterwards," Micah stated calmly from the doorway.

"Not with THIS group! Sure, we'll have lunch, but then it'll turn into shopping and afternoon tea and Naga knows what else," Allexis ranted. "I'll lose the whole afternoon."

"You can always train with Master Armin tomorrow, sis," little Zach pointed out. Allexis eyed him harshly. "Come on," he pressed. "We hardly get to do this anymore." The boy continued to look expectantly to his eldest sister with his best 'puppy-dog eyes.' After a few moments, Allexis threw her hands up in frustration.

"Fine, whatever," she conceded. That look of his never failed to get him what he wanted. Despite her prickly outward apparent, Allexis always had a soft spot when it came to her brother. And he knew just how to use and abuse it. Vance smiled inwardly at the whole thing.

"Alright then, shall we?" Micah urged the group.

It took the trio of siblings a while to decide on a venue. In the end, they settled on a small cafe overlooking the river that ran through town. It afforded them a pleasant view and was quietly nestled within the noble quarter with less foot traffic than most other places. Point in fact; the place also had their favorite desserts. As the kids ate, conversed and laughed, Vance and his fellow retainers couldn't help but be put at ease. Despite the previous day's happenings, things were plenty quiet and peaceful.

The children were just finishing their dessert and deciding what to do next, when Vance noticed something a bit odd. While the cafe was tucked into a small corner and had little foot traffic to disturb those who diner there, one could still pick up the movement and conversation of those who passed by. However, at the moment Vance couldn't hear anything at all, save for the river's current. He then focused more on his surroundings, and noticed that no one was around anywhere. Even the cafe staff were nowhere to be seen. The smile he had been wearing earlier disappeared from his face, replaced by a questioning scowl and darting eyes. Micah noticed this and began to look around too.

"Trouble?" Micah asked.

"Dunno, maybe," Vance answered as he stood up to have a look around. The kids quieted as they noticed their retainer's change in demeanor. However, before he could investigate footsteps could be heard approaching from the side alley leading to the terrace that they were seated on. At this point in time, Micah and Maraav stood as well to face the alley. Three figures came out of the alley to face the group. There were two men flanking a woman. They were all dressed in white robes with gold embroidery, and had matching masquerade-style masks that covered their upper cheeks, noses, eyes, and foreheads. The group approached within about ten paces and came to a stop.

"Can we help you?" Micah asked pointedly. Vance didn't like their demeanor, and unconsciously gripped the hilt of his sword. Maraav took a step to the side, giving a bit more room to his comrades.

"We've come for the children," the woman said with an outstretched hand. "Hand them over, and you three may leave with your lives."

"That's not gonna happen," Vance said with a clear edge in his voice. He took a couple of steps forward, as did Maraav. Micah fell back a few steps, waving for the children to move behind him. As they scrambled to do so, Maraav spoke up.

"I think you three should leave. Your presence is frightening our charges."

"It will be by force then," the woman remarked, as her companions brandished weapons and spread out.

Without giving them time to make a move, Vance lunged forward and unsheathed his sword into an upward slice aimed at the woman's neckline. However, her reaction was just as fast as his and she ducked the attack and fell back. Palming a small vial from her robe, she threw it at the swordsman. Vance attempted to sidestep it, but wasn't fast enough. It caught him in the shoulder and shattered on impact. Whatever liquid was inside began to quickly eat away at his clothing and the flesh beneath. Hissing in pain, he dropped back to gain some space. Maraav summoned up a dark spell of his and flung it at the man in white before him. It caught the target square in the chest and sent him flying backwards into a table and its chairs. The third hostile darted past the two leading retainers at an almost unnatural speed to try to snatch one of the children. He was able to gain purchase on Mora's shirt and began to haul her away. Luckily, the child put up enough of a fight to slow him down to the point that Micah was able to lay hands on him. Grabbing him by the collar, the Manakete wrestled him off of Mora and tossed him, face first, into a wall. Before the man could react, Micah snapped his neck with sheer strength.

As the man fell lifeless to the pavement, Micah ushered Allexis and Zach over with Mora, where he could make a more effective wall against further assault. Meanwhile, Vance and Maraav were still squaring off with the remaining hostiles. The last male had finally recovered from being flung from his feet, only to catch another blast of dark magic which opened up terrible wounds across his face and upper body. He went down in a heap and didn't get back up. The lone female hurled another concoction at Vance. This time, he ducked it as he entered a spin that allowed his blade to catch her in the side just below the armpit. She grunted in pain and staggered to the side. As she did so, Vance halted his momentum and reversed his blade to jab it through her throat. The woman hung there for a moment gurgling and sputtering. When he pulled the weapon free of her, she fell, dropping one last vial that broke and began to eat into the rock flooring.

All three retainers took a second to catch their breath and brace for additional attackers. When no one came, they gathered the children and ran for the safety of the palace. As they arrived, they were met with a scene of carnage. There was a score of bodies littered throughout the palace grounds. Some were guardsmen, the others were dressed in white garb like those that had assailed the retainers and their charges. It seemed the attack on the children was only a small part of a larger scheme. Luckily, the whole thing was over by the time the group got back. While Maraav took the children to their rooms to rest, Micah and Vance went to check on the King and Queen. They met the King's Hand, Zephyr, outside the king's chambers. The door itself was guarded by no less than four King's Guard, including the male and female Vance had seen earlier that morning. Seeing the retainers returned, Zephyr quickly made his way over to them.

"Thank Naga you're here. We've a real crisis on our hands," he said while shaking his head.

"What happened?" Micah asked, concern in his voice.

"The palace was attacked by these fanatics calling themselves the 'White Mantle.' They attacked without warning and pushed deeply into the palace. The King was injured protecting the queen. This is terrible, just terrible!" Zephyr lamented.

"The King was injured? How bad is it?" Vance pressed.

"The wound is deep, but the healers are seeing to him now." Micah pushed past the diminutive man to the door to the King's chambers, with Vance in tow. Zephyr called for them to stop, but they ignored him and entered into the room. The Guard made no move to stop them.

There King Tyson lay in his bed. He had a large, blood stained bandage spread across his lower abdomen that the main healer was tending to. Queen Alyssa sat in a chair next to her husband holding his hand. There were lines of wetness trailing down from her eyes, as she had been crying. Her garments were also speckled with blood, though whether it was from the King or someone else was unknown. When the Queen saw Micah and Vance, she stood and walked over to them.

"Thank goodness you two are ok. Where are the children?" she asked.

"They're fine. Maraav is with them down in their chambers," Micah answered.

"Naga be praised," Queen Alyssa breathed. "Were you all attacked as well?"

"We were, but it seemed rather half-hearted compared to what we've seen here," Vance said. "There were only three of them."

"I see. Then it seems their main focus was the assault on the palace," she said. "I dare say they were very nearly victorious here."

"How bad is King Tyson's wound?" Micah asked.

"The wound is deep, but well within the healer's ability to tend. However, he seems to be having some trouble getting the bleeding under control," the queen answered with a look of concern. Micah reached out and put a hand on her shoulder to reassure her.

"I'm sure he'll be fine, Alyssa. It'll take more than a simple wound to bring down the Last Dragon." The Last Dragon was a nickname that King Tyson Valgus was well known for. He earned it years ago during the war when he was the last living member of his clan after a particularly terrible battle. That was well before he met Alyssa and started his family.

"Of course," Queen Alyssa said, though her tone indicated she wasn't so sure. "As it is, he would not still be with us at all if not for the heroic actions of our two newest King's Guard. Perhaps you've met them; Jill and Quade?"

"You're speaking of the two just outside?" Vance asked hooking a thumb over his shoulder.

"Indeed. They arrived this morning looking to join the Guard's ranks. They are quite skilled, and were able to fend off many of the Mantle until reinforcements could arrive. They saved our lives," she explained.

"Then it is good they were here," Micah said. What do we know of these White Mantle?"

"Not much, I'm afraid. This is the first we've ever heard of them. If I had to venture a guess, I'd say they were likely a pro-war faction that has come together to stop the peace talks. Though, that's just a theory at this point," Alyssa responded.

"I suppose that's what we'll have to go with for now. We'll investigate later. Now, I'm sure you must be exhausted. Come see the children, and then turn in for the evening," Micah told her.

"You're giving me orders now?" Alyssa asked arching an eyebrow.

"Consider it a strong recommendation," he answered. She sighed and shook her head.

"I'll take it into consideration. Now, we have things under control here but I'm going to stay a bit longer. Why don't you two go check in on the children. I'll be down in a bit to see them. And have that shoulder looked at, Vance." Vance and Micah nodded and made their way from the room. As they passed Zephyr, he gave them an ugly look. They rarely paid him any heed in the past, and even less so now. While he may be the King's Hand and personal advisor, he had no jurisdiction over the retainers. The two made their way back through the palace and down to the childrens' rooms. Once they got there, Vance and Micah found them all gathered in Allexis' room. All three had passed out on the bed, with Allexis in the middle cradling her two siblings on either side of her. Maraav has taken a seat next to them where he could keep an eye on the door. As his two compatriots entered, he quietly got up and moved into the hallway where they got him caught up on all that they had found out. The group then took turns heading down to the kitchens to get something to eat and take care of any personal business, while the others stayed with the children. Vance took a bit to have one of the other healers in the palace mend the burns on his shoulder. Afterwards, he rejoined the others outside the children's chambers. Seeing how to was getting quite late, the three decided to spend the evening in the hall just outside the childrens' rooms using a series of benches and sheets as makeshift beds.

Just before Micah could lay down for the evening, Queen Alyssa emerged into the hall. As she approached, she had a somber look about her. Micah nudged Vance, who in turn woke Maraav. Alyssa stopped to address all three at once.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news. My husband will be unable to attend the peace summit. His wound refuses to stop bleeding, and the healers are unsure what to do."

"Do they think it's likely that there is something more at work? Perhaps a poison or curse?" Micah asked.

"They have ruled out any curses, as there is no magical presence about him, and they cannot find any trace of poison they are aware of," Alyssa answered. "As it is, young Zach will have to go in his father's place."

"Your Highness, do you think that's wise?" Maraav spoke up. "Perhaps it would be best if the talks waited until our Lord has recovered…"

"The summit will not wait. If we held off, there's no telling when we could convince the leaders of Gridania to come together with us again. So, I will be taking Zach with me, and the girls as well. They need to be there for this as it is a very important moment in their lives," Alyssa explained. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to tell my children about this development and get them ready for tomorrow. There is much to do."

"My Queen, the children are exhausted from the day's events. Why not let them rest for the night, and save this burden for the morning?" Vance suggested.

"They need to be made aware of the situation, Mr. Navarre. I appreciate your concern, but this needs to be done." Alyssa moved to make her way past the three retainers, but stopped short as Micah stood in front of the door to Allexis' room. "Stand aside, Micah," she said when he refused to move.

"Alyssa, I'm sure this can wait till morning," he responded. Vance and Maraav shared a look, as Micah had never dared to defy her before. She too gave him an incredulous look.

"Excuse me? I think you are forgetting your place," she said with an edge in her voice.

"Far from it, in fact. You forget, I've been in this family for a few generations now. My only concern is this family's wellbeing. Now, these children have been through a harrowing experience. They were attacked, their father has been seriously wounded, and now you want to tell them that they are expected to head to a summit far from home? I think they've been through more than enough for one day. Let them rest, and you can talk to them in the morning. Besides, you could use the rest too. Go be with your husband, and we can deal with the rest of this later," Micah proposed. Alyssa stood there with her hands on her hips for a full minute staring at the Manakete. She was clearly unamused by his act of defiance. Yet despite her withering gaze, Micah just stared right back with crossed arms.

Sighing, she finally relented, "fine, but I will be back in the morning to deal with this." As she turned to leave, she looked back at Micah once again. "And don't think this is the end of this discussion, Mr. Mitternacht," she remarked before walking away. His face gave nothing away, though Vance was sure his fellow retained was not looking forward to the fallout from that little stunt. Vance wouldn't want to face down whatever punishment the Queen would mete out, even if he was of the same mind as Micah.


End file.
